This Latina Opens Up About Her Sister’s Suicide And Hopes It Encourages People To Speak Up And Seek Help

Claudia lost her sister to suicide 2 years ago. She hopes her message with help someone like you. She wants you to know..You Matter Get the help you need. Speak to someone. Call 800-273-TALK. #ShareIfYouCare #YouAreNotAlone #SuicidePrevention

“Seeking help sometimes just gives you a different perspective on the same situation.”

On December 9th, 2015, Claudia Gutierrez lost her little sister Katherine to suicide, and now she is telling her story to help bring awareness to the issue of mental health and suicide. Gutierrez recently spoke to Los Angeles radio station Power 106, touching on several details about her sister Katherine.

With a smile on her face, Gutierrez recalled, “She had the most beautiful eyes. They were green. She was so full of life. She had really long hair. She was so funny and witty. I have never met anyone as funny as she is. I don’t think she saw those things about herself.” Despite how happy Katherine appeared, in the summer of 2013, Gutierrez and her family got a call from Katherine’s school and were told that she was cutting her arms. It was then that Katherine admitted to struggling with depression and having suicidal thoughts. Even after Katherine tried to explain, her family didn’t understand why she suffered from depression. Her family also wasn’t aware that she was abusing alcohol as a way to deal with the pain. It wasn’t until Katherine was sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning that her family understood the gravity of her depression. “The hospital felt strongly that she was a harm to herself, so she went into the psych ward,” Gutierrez explains. Gutierrez and her family thought Katherine had improved after entering the psych ward, but that wasn’t the case.

“On November 24th, her boyfriend committed suicide,” Gutierrez recalls. After Katherine’s boyfriend committed suicide, Gutierrez and her family grew even more worried about Katherine’s life. However, Gutierrez admits, “Towards the end, she told us she was fine and I think we so desperately wanted to believe she was fine… that we did. We believed her. We thought she was okay.”

On December 9th, 2015, Claudia Gutierrez lost her sister Katherine to suicide. And today, as part of the campaign for Suicide Prevention Awareness, Gutierrez is sharing her experience and sending out a message to others who are struggling with a similar situation.

“Seeking help sometimes gives you a different perspective on the same situation. I want to help someone in my sister’s situation and also in my situation. I just wish I would’ve asked her more about her. What she wanted out of life, what she was looking forward to. Just to give her that hope and that encouragement, that there are more things that you want for your life. There are things you want to do and there are things that you will accomplish in your life. I wish I would’ve asked her that so I could’ve given her that motivation and let her know, your goals do matter. Your accomplishments do matter. You matter.”

If you or someone you know, is struggling with depression and might be having suicidal thoughts, please call for help at 1-800-273-8255.